New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell was correct to resign Friday following the publication of a state ethics probe that alleged that he had been attempting to use his government position to set up dates and harass women, and had attempted to secure the promotion of a woman who he was dating.
Caldwell had to leave because he had lost the confidence of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who selected the college president for the Democratic ticket last year and who needs a No. 2 in whom she has absolute trust. After that report came out, she said Caldwell had to resign.
New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who broke with Gov. Hochul and launched a primary campaign against her that he soon abandoned, should have made the same decision as Caldwell to step aside, but instead he has hung on, a disloyal deputy properly frozen out by the boss and just waiting until his term ends on Dec. 31.
Caldwell disputes the charges against him, but he tendered his resignation because he says he still backs Sherrill and he did not want to be a distraction to her still-young administration. That is really the only smart analysis. The position of lieutenant governor is a support role to the governor and serves as replacement to step in during a gubernatorial vacancy.
Like the vice presidency, the LG is at its core a position of waiting, either for those instances when the top person is away or indisposed or if the time ever comes when the chief executive is unable to continue in their duties. That makes it a position that is both powerless and very important, as the power can flow in all at once (let’s not forget how Hochul initially came to the big chair).
Running a state is a tall enough order without having to worry that you cannot trust your second in command. Caldwell made the right decision. Delgado made the wrong choice. Any governor deserves to have a loyal LG, ready to take over if need be.
Sherrill has 45 days to name a new LG and she has to do a much better job of finding someone who is both trustworthy and fit to assume the governorship. With Caldwell she failed, as Hochul failed with Delgado, who followed her first LG, Brian Benjamin, who resigned when he was indicted by the feds.
A lieutenant governor is not meant to be a free agent who can undermine the governor from within. If Delgado really thought that he would be a better governor than Hochul, he should have continued his primary challenge, but either way, he should have resigned and let Hochul have a loyal person at her side.
If Delgado was to become governor, he should have his own loyal LG, not a turncoat seeking to oust the boss, as no one benefits from a situation where the lieutenant becomes a liability.
A lieutenant governor can’t be fired and only removed through an impeachment and a trial, but when the governor wants the No. 2 out, the No. 2 should listen and resign.
That’s an essential part of the job description: Follow what the governor wants, including a tough call to resign. Caldwell’s final act as LG was his best one. Too bad that New York’s LG Delgado didn’t take the same honorable path and walk away.